Breathtaking Views from our Backyard

Update 10/05/09

Since it seems like this piece will never get posted if I keep waiting until I get a chance to upload those 'breathtaking views' I was taking about, I'm just going to post it. Pics to come with some later post I suppose.

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08/22/09

On Day 2 we left the congested streets of Beirut behind and were off to Bazhoun - the village in the mountains where our family is from. Driving up there bordered terrifying, but I have decided that Lebanon traffic is getting a post all to itself. So for now, lets pretend we just teleported up to Bazhoun and got there safe and sound.

Our destination was this amazing 3 bedroom/2 bath grotto style home belonging to one of my uncles. South Africa Aunt greeted us and had the house stocked and ready. There were even seperate rooms for me and Cousin but we refused. What good is a vacation if you cannot have a sleepover? Even when you are over 20, staying in the same room is required for all-night gossip!

Our backyard terrace had a breath taking view. I sat outside staring out over the valley every day and hardly wanted to move. It was the perfect reading/writing/meditating spot. In Lebanon, a lot of people have a house down below for the school year, and then they come up into the mountains, to their summer vacation home, when it gets too hot. All I can say is - this is the life! If you want to find yourself - go on a vacation to the mountains of Lebanon.

Another perk of being in the mountain - and hindrance at the same time - is that everyone knows everyone, and it will be known that you are not from around there. Which is fine, all we had to say was: bint (daughter of) Robby, bint Ralph, bint Moussi, and everyone knew who we were. In order to be somebody you need to have a long line of family aparently. Fine with me, that just means I belong. And you really don't have to explain very much after you have said those few words. It is known - you are Lebanese. And being Lebanese means you will be entertaining every day - whether you want to or not. The same way anyone you ask for directions or anything else will invite you in for coffee - you'd better invite anyone who walks past your house and greets you in as well. It is the neighborly thing to do. Tip: ALWAYS have coffee and sweets handy. You'll need them.

In the village, we quickly met shop owners, neighbors, and friends. We were there before summer started, so there wasn't that much nightlife when we first got there, but we amused ourselves walking around Hasroun (the next village over) and visiting all kinds of tourist attractions during the day. The thing to do around here, which is what we did in our last week mostly - is to go to Hasroun and join the women walking up and down while the men drive up and down in their cars. Our last three nights MiamiCousin, SurinameCousin and I would go sit on the terrace at Los Amigos, a bar/lounge in Hasroun, and just talk and people watch. And we would actually see the same 10 cars driving up and down 4 times. Too funny. We met some of them as well when there was a one man show in Los Amigos on the third night. My dad's reaction: 'O it is still the same!?' And mind you - he is talking about 30 years ago. It is comforting that some things will never change. Next time I visit Lebanon, I will go after summer has started, and I hope I can still go sit on the terrace at Los Amigos, and just watch the cars go by night after night while drinking my glass of wine and listening to the chatter of familiar voices. It's nice to know you instantly belong in a place where you have never even been.

Can I be a student again please?!

Cousin and I visited the American University of Beirut before we left the city. All I have to say is – welcome to a beautiful campus and CAN I GO HERE PLEASE?

The campus overlooks the ocean, has beautiful walking paths, amazing architecture, people I think I’d like as friends and it is in the middle of Beirut! Spoiled me could even have her McCafe cappuccino's across the street! The Business School recently got accredited and the new building sits right on the ocean.

Cousin and I are in LOVE.

Taxi? Taxi? You're a .... taxi?

In Lebanon, you're funniest stories are sure to come from taxi adventures. When wandering in Lebanon, it may seem to you that every car is a taxi. Well you are right - to you Foreigner, they are. And they will honk at you and let it be known, sometimes even stopping two or three at a time. Even if you don't look like you need a taxi...you'll be honked at - just in case...

We experienced it all, from the guy with the SVU who instantly became a chauffeur when we walked out of our hotel (I guarantee you he was not a taxi. And for $10, he drove us 2 minutes away. Hmm...thank you?), to the cab driver who did not speak a word of English and made two stops along the road to see if someone else did and could talk to us, to a cab driver that cursed at us because we didn't want to get into his taxi without him knowing where our hotel was.

Taxis will take take you anywhere you want to go, even if they do not know where it is. Excuse me? How are you going to get there then? Sit back and try to relax, there are hundreds of people on the street. We can just stop and ask. Multiple times if need be...or I will just drive around, we are sure to find your destination! You live, you learn, and you ask before you get into a cab if they know where your destination is...

One cab driver, the one who could not speak English, kept saying Habibti (darling) to us and at some point asked us if we came from the US and starting chanting: Obama, Obama, yes, Obama, Obama good! It was too funny. Not too funny when he didn't give us change, supposedly not understanding us. Owh well, Cousin and I were alone on our way to the American University of Beirut, so it was a good laugh and we were just glad we made it in one piece. I really need to learn how to speak Arabic for when I come back...the whole time we kept wondering if we would actually end up at AUB and we just could not stop laughing. I am sure the cab driver amused himself.

One time we had a really good cab driver. Told us the price in advance, spoke English really well, even gave us all kinds of tidbits about Beirut on the way to our destination and pointed out sights. He gave us his phone number in case we wanted to go sightseeing and hire him for the day. And then my dad proceeds to tell me something along the lines of that he hopes we did not get kidnapped or so. DAD. You'll jinx it! Stop talking NOW. Thanks.

O, and then there was this time we got into a taxi that had a taxi id. With the wrong face on it...HAHA. Well Mr. Not-Cabdriver. Who are YOU?

This post is proof I survived all of my crazy taxi adventures. Don't let it scare you, it's actually not that scary, just funny. And the stories had to be told but please don't take them in the wrong context :) All there is to do is laugh.

Signing off from the back of another taxi, praying for our safe arrival and laughing out loud until we do,

Ms. Globetrotter

Downtown and the Rolex

After spending the afternoon in ABC mall where I bought the coolest outfit - which I am not sure will make it to the streets in Midwest USA- our first night took us to Downtown Beirut.

'Downtown' is the town square ...which is really more of a town circle. It includes a clock tower with a Rolex in the center of the circle, the most beautiful expensive boutiques in the streets which go out to every direction , and many chic restaurants lined up with waiters inviting you in at every step.

We had dinner at Al Balad, a restaurant I found in my Lonely Planet. After this afternoon I was determined to redeem myself and prove Lonely Planet was useful! Even if just ink on paper. The food was AMAZING. 1 point to Ms. Globetrotter and her Lonely Planet :) . We sat outside, because Uncle hates smoke, and there is not an inch of Lebanon that is smoke free. Whether it's mothers smoking an Arguileh with their children eating ice cream right next to them, or men smoking cigarettes with their father-in-law, tabacco is an unmissable cultural staple.

After eating way too much food, which, as Uncle noted, is one of the most healthy cuisines ever so it doesn't matter, we go back to our hotel. Cousin and I meant to go out, but are too exhausted, so just hang out. Tomorrow is another day.

Already in Love with Lebanon,

Ms. Globetrotter

Lebanon - If you had been there, you wouldn't have wanted to leave either...

Left Schiphol on Monday morning. Two flights and a stopover in Italy later, we were in Lebanon.

First thoughts:
Free seating on a plane - what is up with that?

People can smoke IN the airport?
Why is the airport one of the busiest ever at 3 am?
I feel under dressed. A little background info on this one: I decided to wear leggings and boots with a boyfriend shirt - dress. Well once we landed I felt super claustrophobic and hot and lost the leggings and boots. Leaving me in ballet flats and a shirt dress. Too much skin for 3 am airport. And too little make-up. Women always look fabulous here. Even at 3 am.

On to Beirut!

We get out of the airport after the immigration officer has extensively checked our passports to make sure we do not have an Israeli stamp in it. If you want to see the world, you have to pick one between Israel and Lebanon. We have a driver waiting for us and take off. I wait for the 'I'm in Lebanon' feeling, but that's kind of absent. I suppose getting onto a highway and into a hotel at 3am won't really give you a good sense of where you are though!

Day 1
The next day we get up and headed to lunch. Or that was the plan at least. I didn't get the memo that I was supposed to be the leader and know where everything was...whoops...didn't study up on my Lonely Planet enough! Note to self: Lonely Planets are amazing, but they are no GPS....you actually have to sit down and study them before you leave...walking and reading and navigating just doesn't go together. Also, it would help if you knew where you were on the map before you ventured out. Do they have Lonely Planet in electronic versions? If not Lonely Planet, it is time for an upgrade. Gen Y does not know how to read from paper. We are in the 21st century after all.

We were wandering with no destination and figured we would run into food...or Ms. Globetrotter here would figure out the Lonely Planet. WRONG. Can we take a cab out of this neighborhood we ended up in? It took some time, but we finally convinced Uncle it would be better if we took a cab. I think we would have wandered forever otherwise. Wandering forever on an empty stomach does not make me happy to be in Beirut...it just makes me wish a McDonalds would magically apppear on the corner. Yup, Ms. Globetrotter is spoiled and always wants to have food at her disposal or she gets crabby. Add heat, and the hotel restaurant is starting to sound good right about now.

We finally take a cab to Rue de Hamas, and find a cafe. Wonderful! I'm happy again and ready for the next adventure! I thought the cans of Diet Pepsi with Arabic writing and the hand written receipt were the coolest thing ever! We were off to a mall, but more about that in my next post. For now, we have every cab in the street honking at us as they drive by, and I suppose we will just get into one and hope we arrive safely.

Signing off from here, there and everywhere,

Ms. Globetrotter

Adventures in Sisterland

Next stop: Brussel!

Sister loves exploring, so we decided to take a way-to-early-for-me train to Brussel. So excited to go to Belgium, even if only for a day! Of course we did not plan anything, but we kind of figured we would find everything we needed at the train station. Little did we know....

Arriving at the station, there was no food. Problem #1: Sister and I both get crabby when we don't eat. Then we couldn't find an exit. Problem # 2: Sister and I are impatient. We finally make it out, and there is no food in site. What city is this?! Problem #3: It starts raining. Ok, can we start over Day? I'd like a redo.

Sister of course comes up with a brilliant solution - something I swore I would never do when still living in NYC - take a Hop on Hop Off tour. it was definitely necessary though. Transportation taking you to all the spots of the city all day and more importantly - we figured we were sure to find food!

We get off at the next stop - it looks cute, we figured there should be a cafe around here. WRONG. There were all these fancy sit down places and an antique market. Where exactly do people get a quick grab and go meal?! Not here apparently.... I start taking my distance from Sister because I swear she is going to kill me even though this is not my fault, haha. While trying to find the next stop we end up finding a little cafe and ordering tea and crepes. Wonderful. You know the mug 'Instant Human Just Add Coffee' - well, try that one with us and food! We couldn't stop laughing over nothing all of a sudden. A quick map study later and we were finally good to go.

We find the next stop...sort of - but end up waiting for 30 minutes and having to run to another stop anyways! Owh well, we made it. At this point, all Sister wants to do is go to a 'normal shopping street', and so we do. Now THIS is life in Brussel. Before we got off at this stop I was wondering if Brussel had anything normal in it. Two awesome jackets from Zara later, and a failed attempt at finding an H&M dress, we go back to the bus and to stock up on some more history. And decide not to walk anymore, we both wore awful shoes. Now I know why tourists never look fashionable! Both of us would pick fashionable over comfortable anyday though!

We get to drive past all the great sites, and only get off once more, at Manneken Pis. I figure this is one attraction we should see. We also stop at the Central Market...which is not a Market. It is basically like the Dam in Amsterdam. I wish I would have known that sooner, it was soo cute!

A long exhausting, but ultimately super fun day later, we were off to Tilburg! Not before a train delay though...but hey, it could be worse!

Loved the trip, had a great time with Sister and ended up loving Brussel. A city with a lot of character.

Travel Tips: Bring food, a map, and good walking shoes! The city is not walkable though, so I'd take the Hop on Hop Off tour even if just for transportation!

And don't forget to have Vlaamse Patat and Belgium Waffles when you are there!

Home is where the heart is...

It isn't home, but it comes close enough.

Here I was - the Netherlands take 4. Have time, will end up here. Nothing new :) . I see my friends there more than they see each other. Or just as much at least.

This time my journey was taking me to Lebanon by way of the Netherlands. I was super excited to FINALLY, after being Lebanese for 23 years and denying it for 75% of that, embrace my heritage and go to the home I never knew. But first, it was catching up with family and friends time!



Stop 1: Tilburg, somewhere in the South. Such a quaint little town and I loved it! Sister has a super cute apartment there and Mom was visiting too. Mom was leaving on Thursday, so I was planning on staying in Tilburg until then. Mom visiting means shoe shopping, and with only 4 days to go, there was no time to waste! Three new pairs of shoes later, we helped Sister paint her apartment (or should I say they painted and I watched?!), bought a toaster microwave oven (yes, they actually exist) and had lots of paninis. And ice cream... Great times.

Stop 2: Rotterdam! Where else. Most of my friends from Suriname live here. Stuffed my face with Surinamese food, gossip and a good dose of the past on night one. Why does it feel like I was here all along?! Saw my wonderful cousin that lives there the next day, went shopping, saw her brother and baby dog, ate more Surinamese food. We had such a good time together in December and it was awesome to be able to hang again in NL. More friends, more food later on. Then crashed at the last friend I still had to see while here. Stayed up till the sun came up. If I didn't have to get on a train the next morning early we would have never gone to bed knowing us! Wonderful wonderful two days. It's what keeps me going back. Loyalty.

Stop 3: Brussel with Sister! Lets leave that for next time. Too much to say about her haha. Cousin arrived from Miami! Will see her tomorrow, so excited!

Stop 4: Amsterdam! Aunt, Uncle 1 and Uncle 2 arrived the day before we left to Lebanon! Such an amazing day hanging out with them, Sister and Cousin! A bit rainy, but we survived. Aunt and Uncles were staying in this funky designer hotel which I would have LOVED but they were mortified! Haha. It was too much, lol. Look up Citizen M if you really want to know.

That night Cousin, her aunt who lives in the Netherlands, and I went to have the most amazing Chinese food I have ever had! I still dream of it. It was in Chinatown in Amsterdam. Do you deliver to the US?

Then I was off to Blast from the Past who I had not talked to in FOREVER, but who I was getting many texts a day from. Somehow we both made our appointment. Who would have thought. We went out to Leidse Plein and has such a good time! Saw a guy I knew in high school who did not even recognize me! I'll take that as a compliment thank you very much. Had a good time dancing the night away. I miss living here even though I never did.

Stop 5: Schiphol. It's the day we leave, and it brings horrible news. Cousin's brother has been in an awful car accident along with an old friend. We are all scared to death and don't know what to do. Time made it better, and all is well, but that day was a black page in history for us and brought on a scary few weeks. Uncle of course had to go back and he was terribly missed in Lebanon, but we'll all go back again together some day.

A random note - growing in different directions but still being on the same page makes the best friends. Thank you for that conversation we had on friendship.

That's it for the Netherlands Part 1 of summer 09. Stay tuned for more summer 09 adventures coming up! Ann Arbor, New Orleans, Lebanon, Belgium, Netherlands Part 2, Indianapolis.

Signing off from here, there and everywhere,

Ms. Globetrotter